Humanisticki pristup - 8.12.2012

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Blind Spot consists of things you know abollt me but that I ~ 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 J W t.'The Facade or Hidden Area isjust the r ~ v e r s e . those: things about Ille Il lttl I h el '

to myself, that I do not wallt you to know. Perhaps I need to trusr Y"U more III

reveal these things, or I may feel that you will think less of me if I let you kn OI .

these parts of myself. The Unknpwn Area has data about me that neither you noli

I am'aware of. Some may be at the u nconscious level.

Now how does the nlodel work? Ideally, the largest area should he the Open

Area in which you and I know a good nlany things about me, while tht! oilier 3 r ~ J Sshould be 'Illite small. The way this can corne about is through sharing and feed- '

back. That is, the rn<lre I let you know about me, the smaller my Ilidden

will be: and the largN the Open Area will grow. My Blind ~ p o t r . ' i U d i : c r l ! ~ j f y f l I I 1 t dgive me feedback related 10 things Imay not yet realize about.

As I ~ h a r e things about myself with you and you g j ~ e '

develop sorne insights into r n y s ~ l f that are in rhe Unknown'I I :1

• I • " i .4. ..

\

All Ahoul Hum.niscic [d u , ,Ii

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rI Motiel l{)r Sharillg

I

Humanistic te chniques hclp create a warmer, more accepting climate, i l i id

ofgr,eater closeness "m O l!! s ~ d e n l s But how does this corne aboutl'l 0

'. underst:lnd the prol'.!». it is helpful to refer to a model called the JuhJri Ili ll.l ,

Its n\ysterious naille lI'a, coined from the first names of the PS},Chlllllgj , ,, '. 1 1"developed it, JoseI'll I.lllt and !larry Ingham,

Things I

Things I Know Dorl't 1\:1l 0'.':

The Johari Window Model'Things

They

Know

Things

They

Don't

Know

"Reprinted from John E. Jon . 3nd J. William

I

Arena

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Blind SP " 1

"'t't'

Facade

""lii,I ,len Area) UnklH1wll

Uncolls r io ,, ,

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'1

,

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Pfeiffer, eds., The 1973 Anrillal " r-Group Facilirators. b Jolla, Cllif.: Univcllily A"oei3te, (1973). Used wilh I'<rm i;,i ,no

The model is viewed as a cOllimunit:ation window through whkh 111/1111 11 J

tion is given an.1 rece ived ahout oneself and others, It works this war, I li t re

four areas in the window. The Open or Public Area contains information wlii , Ii J

know about myself ;lJld YOII also know; it is therefore public knowledge , 'I he



I Ii ' ' -"ring Sharing ill t1" Fureign L.ll1f;""gr el.ls,

I h ~ s c insights wilh you, they revcn to the Opell Arca.lhcrcrore, t h r o u g l ~ sharing

and fcedback the Opcn or Public Area increascs, while thc other t l H ~ e a r ~ J sueclcasc. HUllIanistic techniqucs, then, aim at increasillg the Open Area for

, everyone and, through the process of giving and recciving information abloutI

l.lursclves and each other, warmth and closeness develop as we tluly get to know

ene another. · I I Dut just how essential is the plocess of sharing" Sidney M. ]ourard. .

p ~ y c h o t h c r a p i s t and teacher, spent llIany years in the scientific investigation of

self·disclosure, or sharing oneself, because he vicwed it as the most important

thing in the world that can be studied. lie regardcd this area as vital bccause

"authentic self·disclosure is a way of le1ting othels krll\w of one's self and wOlld,

to sec if thcy approvc or disapprove-and to sec if OIiC likes or dislikes this self

and world one's self." 18 lie saw selr·disclosure as "Ihat cmbodiment 'the

(uuragc to be.' "1 9 Building tru sting relationships anu sharing oneself WIth others

go hand·ln·hand as necessities for sound I l l c n t ~ 1 h e ~ l t h I

ASSUMPTIONS OF l/UMANISTIC ElJUCA nO N : ISilll'Ply stated, these are some of thc key premises underlying hUnlaniSlil educa·

lion which were drawn upon in preparing the matcrials plcsented in book ror

the fmeigh language class:

I. A principal purpose of edllcaliOlI is to provide learnings and an environ·

IlIeIIl that facilitate the achicvement of thc full potential of students .· I . ,;:.:'2. Personal growth as well as cugnitivc growth is a responsibility of the '." ", .

school. Therefore educalion shwld deal with both dimensions ofhumahs-the"I .

cognitive or Intellectual and the affective or emotional. . ::' 'I .1 ' ;

J . For learning to be significant, feelings IIIIlSt he recognized a.ndput to use.! '

4. Significant lealning is discovcled for oneself. I .: .5, Human beings want 10 actualize their potcntbl. . ' . 'r; !

c..learning.

'] .

8.

Having healthy relationships with olhcr c l a s ~ r n a t e s is rrfore conducive't o' ij .

. : I '. ). ~ i l lLearning more abollt oneself is a motivaling factor in learning: .f , I 1';

Increasing one's self·estecm enhances Icaming . .' 'I ..' "1:'..,,(.1 ' " '1. ' "</ Y. <'

I J I

II"II AI","t " , , , , , , ' ' ' ; 11,1\" "1;",, ' tl)

activities themselves. wh ble notillll is " l o I l ' i ~ n " tll l lI()s t f'j"t ; .I I . l n ~ l 1 J b eteachers. And so they ml y Idve fe:lls ,111U be teluclant ;liwul l ' t 1 i i n t ~ this l ~ a l l l l ,even though it can be a JeepJr, nlllrc s ; l t i s ! ~ ' i l l l ~ ( ) t l ~ !\lI all. l ..

. Some of the feals bxprt ssed by tcachers 1 ; l k ~ the fnllll \ r ( ) I I y i n ~ tltat.:1:.',

.foreign language teacherlwilltake on the role of psychnillgist. It\ c rfcet, ,eachers" :

·may already be ill that r , Ie whether they allinit to il or not. ' yc ;til Itavc \the puwer.

to make others feel bellcr orworse about thelllselvcs, hut tcachels, ill pallicular,t ::

L have this power with e,very sentence they \lIter. In usillg sdf·;twalcnesstccillliqucs,

teachers try to cnhance fire srudcllt's personal gruwtlr alollg willt his grtJwth il l the.\-! .

talget language, Uy doing so, they recogllill' tltat afkcJivc !;OJJs ale a legitilllate;

; .. part of the curricululll. And thele arC certaill I'roccdulcs tn folio", whclI (ullduet·

ing humanistic exercises lwhich hell' sltHlcnts fcel betlcr and aVllillthe calISe fllr

'concern that teacilers Illay have. T h c s ~ will be cbboratcd ill tit" dlill'tcr tll

help eliminate the basis for those CllllccrllS.

Arthur Jersild regalds all tearilels as p r : l d k i n ~ I,sydltlltlgisls,whdhn lli

not they know it Or acccpt it:

Every IClChcl i, in his own way a p " Y l " h n \ l ) ~ l ~ 1 . EverYlhil1J.! Ill' dUl'''. : - ; \ r ~ (lr lL'al'lH!'i

has .. , a p,ychologiral impact. Whal he On,,!! hcll'lchiIJIt,,, I" ,Iilllller Iheir I l ' l v U l r < ~and thrir limilalions. lie is the ce"l"t J i ~ U l l ' in " o \ I I \ I I l ' < ~ ,illialion, wldch ra il helpthe tearncr to realize and ac""pl him,e1f or whith ma)" b r i , , ~ hll",iIiJli"". , h , " n ~ .rejection, or s c t f d i l P 3 { . g ~ m e n I . 2 0

<II;Ii Anothcr rear some teachers ha\'e is 11i;lt thcy IIlay till SUllie ullintclltiollal

damage to students, since emotiolls ~ l I d r c c l i l l g ~ arc 1I0t :trellS custolllarily delved

Into. TIlelr concern is gencrally unwarrantcd. Sellsitive teachers wililleal

sensitively ill most classroom situatiulIS, just as irlSclisitive lcacllels will be n'nsist·' I'':.j ent with their own behavior patterns. George IS;lJ.c i l lOWII, a wcll·kn\lwlI I c ~ d c r' !!I in the humanistic education movclllent, expresses his filldings Ic\:Jteu tll this:·;1: 1

worry very beautifully:, II . I ·

'Ve know or"o ~ l u ( l e n l ~ who ha' -e Ill:cnlufll1e(\ 1,), (lUI wtHk . It lu'i bl CH t l l I r ; I " I (.\

experiencc, wurking wHh Iarrc I l t l l 1 l \ J c r ~ of l e : ' l d ) l ' r ~ ;tt :111 k\cl!'; (If i t 1 \ l ' \ l l l j ~ l l l Ihat

t e . 1 c h ~ 1 S ""ho arc going 10 a b l J ~ C ' Iheir lOll' will t t l ) :\0 wlle-tlier Of I 1 l ~ t tlil'), 11 ;1'''

11 affeclive lechniques Jvail3lJlc. If a I(a(hn rdJtl" ill J l O \ k or P J l h , l l , ' ~ i l "',.)' 10·i" I

l

his c l a u r L ' ~ 1 1 1 conlcnr . .. I h i 5 1 ' o i ~ u n will (lUi. 1111 IIIa1ler wll 11 the vd\il-k.ll

I

i i Being innovative does illdced involve sOllie risk·taking, but the nl'l'd fllr inilovatiotl

.'I in the schools is quite pronounced. Gellerally, schools h;lve not C I I " t l l l r a ~ e dThc point of view takrn herc Is that building language programs along these lines . ! ";" combining affe.:tive ex I'e riences wi th the rnin g of suhlct: t IlI;illl' I. This is nu

. I ' ; , . \

is essential ill truly motivating lear nels a n d ~ n ~ " i n g justice .t? them as human, :,i·, 1; ' \ " , doubt one reasoll why fIIany y<,ungsters don'l lind the r\;I\\ftll'lli ;1 p l a r ~ \VhCII'

beings and as Individuals , I j I. . ,! things that arc important to theil l i v c . ~ happell.(. , I i" , I

IitI ;'11!'

FEARS ABOUT JlUMANISTlC EDUCA nO N " ,i: ' ' h ~ ~ ,! J' ACQUIRING EXI'EIu/:"NU' IN lIUMANlSnC 1LClINI<jU/:S.:.!, . ! I J • ! I

. I . j' .: ! il . I . . } 1':l i t .,A problem in I ~ c o r p o r a t l n g humanistic activities in ,f0,eign language c \ ~ s s e s ; i ~ a r ; . i A c t u a l l ~ humanistic technique.1 ale r.ol,d lo r Ihc "'adlcI ."s:well.3l th ,c ltlldeot.s ' : ! : ! H

foreign language teachers are largely untrained and blexperienccd In hum, j t I ~ ~ . t f . \ ,; expandmg growth and ~ c l f · a w a l e l l e s s , getllllg I rltotlch With feehngl, a l l d l n c r u s . . J . ' ~!r

! I 1 i;I., " ~ 4 ~ ~ ·11I'll! ':"r !lli'! I· ' . .. · , F ' t ' · t r ~ ; h .;! .

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I: ,

i12 humanistic e x e r c i

I '~ l a r i o Rinvolucri

IIi' Ii' I II

are ,a!' Lliniliar wirh rhe . ..I·I-fill e x e r c i s ~ of, ,. " this is aI l:ml)' ryplcal exalllple. As you , read .. . .. lines, all over the

I ( ) r l d srudenls. arc working rhdir " , .. rhrough kilometres. of

' ?ap: . . . . . exerCises, wlll'rher rhey. first-year . . . . . ar 1\,1ala),slan

vniversiries or c<lndidares sirrinkl the Cambridge exams a ~ y ~,vhere . . . . . rhe world. II :.' .

'rh "I f l ' I' I I t · · I' h .e, 11):1Pose 0 r lIS exrrellle y Wil e s p r ~ activIty, W IC gives manyl e a r n e r ~ and reachers a sense of <llltllOritarivc: securiry, is srrictly

! , l i n g l 1 i in irs narure: ir resrs knowledge of vocabulary, collocation,gramm,\{ and spelling. II sits comfortahly wirhin what Carl Rogers,(19 83h·

1)describes as rhe tradirional par tt ligm of education:

d u c a r i o n has rradirionally t h o l ~ & h t of learning as an orderly

I f ype of cognirive, lefr-brain acriviry. The left hemisphere of rhe

lrain rends ro, fUllcrion in .ways. !t,har are IO?i.cal and linear. It'oes. srep-by-step, In :I srralght Itpe, e1l1phaslz1l1g r,he parts, the

I. petalls rhal m<1 .ke .up rife whole. Iq cceprs. only w!l:lr IS s ~ r e and

dear. It deals III Ideas and conCeprs. It IS assoclared With rhe

inasculine aspects of life. This is l rhe only kind of funcrioningthat is acceprable to our schools an d colleges.I

'Strings-nt-words' exercises

The gap-fill exercise calls on till' srudenr to work logically and linearly

and emphasises rhe pans thar go to make lip rh t whole. Tr is a clearexemplificarion, ar ,lcriviry kvl'i, of whar Rogers is saying about thewhole milldser of tradirional educarion.

Vari'llis forllls of rr:lllsiarion acriviry belong ro rhe same, no-nonsense,llla Ie pedagogy of rhe type:

J'lease tr,jllslale the followillg sel//ellce /irst literally al/d then

194

12 The JJlwulIIistic exercise

adell/iii/ely (rulll La/ill illto f.1/t;lish: i l lS HEBOS FACTIS,

Ol' l ' I IJU,\\ G A L L O l t U ~ 1 CAESAR Ol ' l 'UCNAVIT.

Grammar rranslarion exercises of rhis rype arc an imporrant elemenr

in language classes round rhe globe, both ill places where reachers have

heard of 'COnlll1Uflicarive n k r l ~ ) ( I ( ) I ( ) g y ' ,1I1d in places where rhey have

nor, for example, among rhe more elderly of China's 400 , 0 00 secondary

reachers of English.

Anorher. wide-spread rype of e x ~ r c i s e rhar focuses enrirely on formal

aspecrs of bnguage as irs objeer is choral reading. In several classes in

Sourh. Korea I heard swdenrs reciring rhe lesson in slow unison wirh

rheir'reacher: Choral reading can lead to memorising rhe rexr as a

whole, especially if rhe rexr is repeared ofren enOUgh. This is certainly

one WilY to rake a bnguage 011 board; ir is rhe wa), rhar Muslims round

the world come into possession of Ihe Koran, which mllsr always be in

Arabie. It was also the way Roman Carholics llsed to learn rhe Larinlirurgy unril ir was replaced b)' modem langllage versions in the mid

sixries. I was broughr up in this audirory learning rradirion, and radar

can effortlessly produce acres of church Latin. The problem is rhar if I

wanr to retrieve a senrence from rhe middle of a prayer I have ro sran

reciring ir from the b e ~ i n n i n g . Yo u 111ay need to do rhe same if youknow the alphJber by hean as a sound sequence: which comes firsr, 'j'or

'h'?Choral reperirion is of course very different from gap-fill or rhe

typical rranslarion exercise in rhar it is nor ar all analyrical or logical.

The aim is ro memorise rhe rexr as ir sunds and s0111erimes wirhour rhe

meaniilg being clear ro rhe learners. What the three exercises have in

, common is rhar nobody is speaking or wriring ro anybody; no inter

personal c01l1mliniCaiion is raking place and so ir is arguable rhar rhe

learners are dealing with srrings of words and !lor wirh language ar all.

The semi-communicative exercise

When you fill in gaps in a re x r, whell )'ou translare a piece of texr to

which you have no speL-ial relarionship, when you read aloudlrecirelchant a rexrbook passage, YOIl are nOI involved in one-to-one inreraction wirh anorher person and so the social aspecr of language is

missing. Some would say thar rhis is as odd as rhinking of music

withour reference to sound. The simple hallmark of rhe communicariveexercise is rhar YOll are saying something to anorher person in rhe rarget

language. The mosr successful version of the communicarive exercise is

when students arc given a [;lsk Jnd have to inreracr verbally to carry ir

195

iIiii'i*tIPIi....; .- . . =... , -. ""..



12 The humanistic exercise

out. One example would be: Imagine two students sitting back to back.

Each of them has a picture that the other stlldent cannot sec. Th e '

pictures are identical except that the second one has tell details missing.

Th e students' task is to discover what the differences between the two

pictures are. This sort of information gap exercise is somewhat inter

esting and has enough ludic appeal to create a mild level of energy in

most students, bu t such exercises wear thin when over-used.

A less linguistically and psychologically successful communicative::tctivity is on e where students arc asked to talk one-to-one about

personal matters but ill the context of artificial language work, often in

the context of a coursebook unit. Let us t<1ke a typical unit on the family

in a 10,\1cr level coursebook. Th e ullit starts with <1 gelle<1logical tree of a '

fictitious family. Often no attell1pt has been made to characterise a,ny of

the people whose names appear on the tree. Th e students listen to a

cassette about the names on the tree an d then the teacher asks qllcstions

like: 'How many sisters does John have?' 'Is Mary John's auut?' All of

the above is psychologically COlltentiess information and is clearly only

there to somehow 'carry' the language ('xponents the unit is designed to

teach. After half an hOllr of this humanly empty sort of activity, students

are typically asked to work in pairs an d ask each other aboLlt their real

families. This should mean that they arc now ming the target language

to speak about affectivcly important things bu t the shadow of the first

half hour's psychological vacuity hangs over them. Often they will

exchange what is potentially powerful informatioll, like the number of

sisters they have, bu t in a mood of relative communicational apathy.

When the teacher comes round listeni ng to the pair work, they have a

shrewd idea she is not too interested in their families but is listening ou t

for correct use of English personal adjectives. Though the information

belng exchanged at this 'transfer' st,lge in the lesson could be powerful

and important in itself, it is emptied of meaning because the Whole

lesson is narrowly form-focused.

We have looked at task-orientated coml1lunicative exercises an d ones

- that occur in the behaviollristically imrired coursebook following on

from presentation an d controlled practice in which the cOIllIl}unicative

stage is sometimes referred to as ' t r a r ~ f e r to the student's ow n life'. We,have seen how students may lind it hard to change gear from vacuous

language-like behaviour to energetic, motivated exchange of real,

personal information.

A third type of cOllllllunicative e X L ' l " d ~ e is the rehearsal activity in

which students tryout the langual-;e the)' might need in future situations

that may take place in the target Iangll,lge, such as ordering food in a

restaurant, booking into a hotel or gettin!; information in a railway

station.

T9 6

12. n)(' (JlllI/ollis/it exercise

These exercises have high face valuc, espccially.if the student is

shortly to go to a target language cOlllltry ;lnd is likely to be in ~ l I c hsituations. Extroverted students will sOllletimes fill such role-pL1ys with

energy and give the teacher the impressiol] of a buuing c1ass(Q,om. And

yet such role-plays have a lo t missinl-;: thcy nre dUlllmy runs, ;the)' arc

the apprentice pilot on the sil11l1lator, not at the controls of a seven four

seven; in fatt they afford their players l11uch less virtn,1I reality thall a

simulator does. Linclstromberg (lyyo:xi) S;IYS of rehearsal activiti ,es:

. .. people learn a Ial\gn;]ge better if their experience i\l it is as

full of meaning and ak rich in imal-;es as possible. Meahing ;llld

mental images cOllle ionly when connection is made lvith the

learners' own world of experience. The greater the cO, I'fction,

the better the learnin;g .. . Most classroom bngllage Idaming

activities arc seriously!lacking in this area. Take, for eX;lI\lplc, ;\

role-play in which Iea'rners expected to imagine arc in

no particular train stAtion speaking about departure tlllles for

' imagi.nary trains g o i n ~ to arbitrary destinations. This !s Ireal and

mealllllgful language l:,se only II I the sense that the picture of a

flower is a flower. I . , I

While the entirely formal lal guage-focused exercises liko t1 ;e! gap-fill

constitute staple diet of tH9 111ajority of the world's I,!nguagi· learners

ftom Hokkaldo to Jakarta hnd from Alma At-a to LlIlla, the Anglo

North American s u b - o r t h o ( h l ~ y of cOl11l11unicative language tdaching is

to be . f ~ u n d .in secondary s ~ h o o l , text books across Europ.e, lis illlplcmentedm private sector schools I'Ight round the world and IS se t before

apprentice teachers in unive1sity training departments. Rivd·s of ink

have flown in discussions df c(JlIlIllllnicative language teacl"ing, but

meanwhile the g r a m m a r - t r a ~ s l a t i ( ) n tC;1Chers just quietly do tlle!r work

and do not feci the need to c(lter into debates . They do the j04 way

it has been done, is done and \ ' i l l he done. II

The humanistic exercise

I

So what is the difference b c t \ ~ cell a semi-coll1l11unicative e x e r d s l and aIu m a n i ~ t i c one?

' The humanistic exercise is ikely to be lIsed in a classroom wl jere theI ' ,

teacher has a strong awareness of group process and ho w th /s affectsl I I

earning. This teacher will hL e stnrted the course with activ tics that

allow the -students to get to know ench other. This tcacher wi,li re;llise

that the mood of the class to be taken into account when ilhagining

lesson plans and that the sllCcess of a ccrt,lin set (If actiVities can

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crnciapj' d ~ p e l l d Oil, W h ~ [ h e r a group fOllrteen -year-olds have just

come trplll vaulting 111 the g) '1lI or worklllg 111 Illath s III self-study modeor scri\)hlilrg d6wn g ~ o g r a p h y with a ( l ~ ( 1 dictator.

The ! will he the sort of perso jl who is aware she is teachingforty l I l ~ l i v , d l l a l s , not a great Illass. She IS likely to be a good observer

and ;11;tfood, empathetic listener. If hlllll<llli5ric exercise is t,o be

r d ~ v a p l and ac\eqll3te to t3sk ot Oft 1l111lg s l l l d ~ n t s a new expcnenceof th;'In'se!vc:s, then tht! te ,lcher's attitllt must be Dositive, her person

I ;

ski lls 'lpod 3nd her training a d ~ q u a t e ,Prcipc:rly hUlllani slic exercises arc; :not fillers for Friday afternoon

(Thur1tb y 3tCernoon II I Arab world)"IOf course they do get lIsed as{illers nI liven up cOlllnlllnic.ltive work, ~ ) ~ I t this lise is trivial and, in the

long d10, uninteresting. \X!hm teachers lise humanistic activities in this

way, out of cOlltext alld as Polyf!I!'I, ( ) f l c (ind them upsetting andi rrelev;11lc '

In C ( ~ h t r a s t , let liS now have a look lat the reaction .a class ,of

Anstna,A t O l l n ~ l " l \ - y e a r - o to a fully pregrated ~ U l l l a r l l S t l ~ exercise

alllled at offenngl ea rners tlllency alld li clf-expresslOn practice (takenfrol l l Pllchra alld Schratz ~ ~ 3 : ' P . - 4 5 ) . .

The laid a circle of rope (scven Illetres long) down on the floor

in the centre of Ihe classrooill. He asked ,ill 27 students to step inside it.

As the teacher plIlIed rope in tighter,lil cOllple of stud ents, without

being askl"d, Iwlped the tt'acher raise the rop e so that it encircled thewhole group ,I t waist level. Thl"Se were the instructions he gave: \Voliid

YOII close your eyes now, /Jicilse? \Vhalever YOIl feel or lIotice, don't

o/)ell YOllr eyes. ) list (Il ncell/rilte Oil YOllr feelings. Gradually the teacher

drew rope in so that all were tightly pressed together.

During the ne xt stage of the activity the students filled the board with

words that described their fcd ings. This dialogue then enSiled:

TEAC II F n What "bow louely? Wlh" wrote thlll?

STUDENT r I .. . I h,d (/ IO/fe/y lee/illg whe/lwc were all so . . . ''' EACH Ell ;. , togetha, yO IlIl lC clll ? ,

STUDENT J Yes.

TEA CIiEll Illteres tillg, So YOII diellUlI lIIillll that. Did )1011 all have p()siti/fe reelillgs?

Sl 'UIHNTS (SO llie, hesiraling) Yes. ,T F A C II E It COllld YUU des a il)c yo ur /ee/illgs (' bit marc. Tell me what

1I ',1S {! (ls itit'e ,,/lO/lt thelll?

STUll EN'!' :!. !thillk /I'e were all (lilt! hig !,ersoll, I think. 'Ve all were

i" the .-ir':!!! ,11/,1 Ih e <ird e 11','5 S(l thall a . .. thall II, I Iot a line, a11

1,,11 rOIll/(III S IIlId, I thill.1.!, we .dllike to be ill the class a/ld so weare iJ I)ig groll/).

TE A C II E H ElIItastic! rllld who wrote light?

..

198

12 '['i)e Imllla/listic exercise

STUD lNT 3 I ,

TEA e ll E It What do you lIIea ll by t/)Llt ?

ST U DENT 3 f;r " , //fhell ! closed Ill y eyes, I had 110 feelillg o f small. I

was ou t, IIlMS /lot ill , ! lIIea li I was I/Ot ill the middle of the circle.

TE AC II Ell So you didll '/ fer/the preSSllres() 1II1le/)?

STUDENT.3 No,

The conversation then wellt off into reflection o n other ti ghtly packed

si tua tions,PLIchta and Schr atz COlnlllellt: ·-rhe students w e r ~ thoroughly involved '

- noO just cognitive\y but tll1ot ionally as well - a nd they had the

oppqrtunit), to air both positive and negative feelings' . This activity'

provided 'a Illcaningiul introduction to the next st3ge of the lesson, in

which the students read a I S S : l g e ahout the kid" crushed during a pop

concert in tv'lt::lbollfll e,

The above extrJc t illustcltes :It cxt rcise le vel, at micro level, what

Carl Rogers says in hi s overview of w h ( ) I ~ - p e r s ( ) n or humanistic

teaching (Roge rs 1'9H3:w):

To involve the whol e person in learning means to set free and

utilise the right brJin, The right hemisphere function s in a quite

different wa), from the left. It is i n t u i t i v It grasps the essence

before it understands the details . It takes in a whole gestalt, the

total configllf:llion.It

opcrares ill Illetaphors. It is aestheticrarher tha ll logical. It Illakes creative leaps. It is the way of theartist, of the creative sc ientist. It is associated with the feminin e

qualiti es of li fe,

The Austrian rcacher gave hi s fOllrtccn-ycar-olds an ex perience which

they will IlJve processed in the ways that Rogers describes above ancl

I which then fed illro and cnriclll:d the reading of the target language text.

He put them in a posit ion to m:lke the exte rnal text their own and to

' experience it in lhe light of their own experience of being squashed

together. The differences hetween the rop e-tn-rcad ing exercise"and the

three semi-comlllunicativc exercises outlined a hove are striking:

The heart of the Ilulll;lI1isric e x e r c i ~ e is a personal experience and a

group experience in Ihe here alld now, which is where the languageflows from . T he stud ent s spea k to the teacher beca use they have

something to exp re ss, something tha t has welled up from their

emotions. This is cOlllpletely different frolll s t u d e n t ~ rehearsing

language for a fllture situation () f producing personal information

only because they are illslructed to personalise previously practised

language.

In the humani stic <: xcrc ise the quality of the students' language is

- - - ~

199



12 .The humanistic exercise

quite sophisticated. The)' arc trying to S;l), things they cannot yet

express clearly in English an d several of the teacher's interventions

arc genuinely to clarify meaning mther than to correct mistakes. In

semi- communicative exercises it is rare for students to feel an internal

emotional pressure sllch that they have to over-stretch themselves and

grasp for language they do no t yet have. 1n communicative exercises·

most of what is said is easily predictahle and at or below their level of

linguistic competence.In the rope exercise the fourteen-year-olds may well have learnt new

things about each other in terms of physical reactiom while being

'crushed', in terms of things said to the teacher in the target language,

an d In terms of after-class conversations in German with classmates

an d their families. Finding ou t interesting t h i n g ~ about yourself an d

about others is a natural part of hUl11anistic bnguage work.

In the humanistic exercise it is easy for the teacher to be genuinely

interested in the students ' replies to his questions. He has no way of

knowing what they may come l1p with in reaction to the rope activity.

Ho w can he get bored with his job if he is bringing forth the

unexpected, the spol1taneous, the new?

In the humanistic exercise there is acknowledgement that the stndents

bring bodies to class. During the activity they leave their chairs, they

stand an d move, they crowd together and jostle, they go and write on

the board. \XTith teenagers and with sOl11e adults the need to get up

an d move comes near the bottoll1 on a Maslowian pyramid of needs,

which means it is very basic for them an d so has higb priority.

Th e wa y a good humanistic language exercise works is the same wa y

many good primary school exercises work, an d I have noticed that

primary school teachers arc often natural h1lmanistic thinkers. You

don't have to persuade them that children !lccd to live through genuine

experiences and that the best learning cOll1es ou t of experience. You

don't have to persuade them that children have hrought their bodies to

. class an d need movemcnt. You don't h<lve to persuade them that fun

an d novelty are central to fast, effective learning. _

This might seem to suggest th;1t hlfl11<lnistic terlching is just ·commonsense, which sadly, is not the C<lse . Th e rlttituties an d expectations of

future teachers are moulded by the way the professi o n trains them, an d

once trained they can be very conservrltive. I rccently received a letter

from a Japanese teacher who, after S i x ~ J 1 1 o J 1 t h s ' tr'lining in th e UK,

wants to introduce cOl11lllll11icative cxercises into his secondrlry c1ass

rool11 in Japan. He writes sadly that his students go through the motions

of communicative exercises bu t that the)' arc still entrenched in the

carlier paradigm of language as a pu re object o f intellectual study. There

200 . 1

I J. Th(' !mlll<lI1;stid exercise

. . h'IS milld . ' I ' I . . I· k'

lligI.Ulto liSS, 111

. t · I ', no questIOn 0, IIltrm UCIllj: 1l1111alllSllc t lin

classroom, an d ye t he has mhrvel\ous, deeply 11I1mali f<1pportiwitl. his

students when they meet in the school c1uhs rll]d Oil the weekelld trips

which Japanese secondary teathers rlre expected to particip<lte in ;

Unfortunately, training in u l 1 1 a n i s t i c L111guage teaching is still quite

limited. In the UK it ca n be found mainly at International H (J1ise an d

Pilgrims, an d perhaps the only 1\'11\ program111c where students)actually

have space an d time ·to study; seriously the work of Gattegno, Curran,

Rogers <lnd other humanistic educators is that of the School for

Intem";on,1 T,,;n;ng;n ""Thon>, Ve"",,,,'. ICriticisms of the humanistic exercise

Let us divide the criticism of the humanistic cxercise into two jlarts:

criticism from within the hUlilanistic belief system an d criticism from

outside, ;

A powerful internal critic is Bernard Dufcu who has worked unceas

ingly over the last twenty-five years to move humanistic thinking

forward an d whose book, Tct/ching Myself (J 994) stands with Stevick's

work at the centre of the hUIll<1I1istic movement in language teaching. In

a r e c e n t ~ u r v e y of alternative approaches Dufeu warns of what he seesas lacking in current humanistic language work (which he calls the

'relational approach'): I 'the relational approach has created some excellent bJ t isolated

techniques. It lacks an o\ 'erall vision that would offer hprogrcs

. sion for the l e ~ r n e r Ibased 011 relat!onal an d lin.guisdc critcria

an d accompanied by <1 nc h selectlQn of exercises. r urrently

teachers only have Iisolated exercises that make l\P a very

incomplete mosaic "n d very few of them are Jo r IIcomplete

beginners. There .is 10 progression in the activities t ) allow a

real entry into the t ~ r g e t language an d the first fifty hcmr s are

really problematic. (author's translation from Dufeu r JG:I7j)

I agree that the last t w e n t y - ~ v e years have seen ;111 explosion Qf jcrcative

exercises (for example, Malty am i Duff J an d that less la,ttention

Jlas been given to hO\v to br ing them into coherent sequences) that help

learners rather than confuse ~ h e m . The problcm here is th;lt, outside the

concrete reality of a givcn gdHlp of le<lrners, it is hard lo define .1hat the

'relational an d linguistic criteria' would be. If we arc thil,king of

multinational classes, t h ~ 1 1 \+e wOllld have to ad d 'c£1\tural cr';tbria'. So

there is work yet to be done:. ; I IAs for criticisms of huma'nistic exercises from olltside, s O l n ~ of the

I

.. 20 1



1 z The IJ/I I / I ( l II is Jic exercise

criticism is simply inaccurate alld illappropriatl: and does not need to

detain us. More interesling olltside criticisill cOllies from Legutke and

Thomas. These t\y'O authors descrihl-' all exercise from Rinvolucri

(19 Hz) lISCJ with cnh, 12th alld I3th grades ill.l German high school.

In the ext'rcise leamers are each asked to ~ ' h o ! l s e half a dozen groupings

the)' belollg tq or have belonged to . Each person thell draws a shape for

each of the c(ii!rctives and nurks with a cross their ow n relationship to"

and within the grollp. Srudcllls lhen explain their drawings to each

other.

Here are some of the le:Hllcr reactiolls that Leglltke and Thomas(1991: 57-8) report:

Panicipanrs agreed with Rinvolucri th3t the exercise opened up

an inreresting and lInllsual perspective on their ow n personality

and as a resliit could be quite motivating .. . However, , .. some

parricip<lllls r e p e a ~ e d l y emphasized the point that , when they

drew their shapes they experienced in parr strong emotions, and

time and again quite surprising olltlines emerged on the paper.

SLlbconscious or semi-consciolls contexts were uncovered in this

way. In many cases, panicularly wilh non-adult learners, this

procedure has heen 'lccompanied variously by painful emotions

becallse it exposed desires of grpllp belonging or p o s i ~ i o of

being placed on the oLltside of the group. The inner dynamic of

the exercise forced kMIIers into momentary undesired puhlicexposure.

The matters raised hy these tWO authors are serious and well worth

dealing with. However, for me they hring up the following questions

abolIt the groups where they had been lIsed: ,

Was this the students' first exposure to thili kind of exercise?

What did the teachers of the groups feel about using such exercises?

What kind of relationship did each teacher have with his/her group?

What had been done previously to p r o m ~ t e an atmosphere of open

ness and truSt? I - Were rile classes aware that they wer9 taking part in a sort , of

eXI)crimenral situation? I

Though 1 don't have answers to these questions, i,t is clear. that sincethe activity cansed clistress to some of the t u c l e n t s , it was not a good

choice for ; his point in their group process. That learners should no t

leave the hum'lllistic c1assroolll in an s o l v e d state of upset goes

without saying. This does 1I0t necessarilYi invalidate the use of an

exercise, bp t it doc;,s point to the need to o d u c e it properly and take

severqJ fa'dors into consideration.

2 02

', I


The poillts brought lip by Lcgntke ~ l I 1 d Thomas liuk back to Dufeu's

worry about there being no ~ l l h : q l l a t e 'relational' framework that

individual exercises can be litted into. Dufeu (1996) suggests that the

creation of a harmonious progression over days and weeks at the

moment depends on the knowledge and skill of the teacher. Quite

possibly it always will, and we not likely to come up with a magic

formula to obviate [his reliance on teachers knowing their job.

IIi , _

Three areas of humanistic exercises

Whew'te'achers ' work with a class in a humanistic frame of mind they

often find they ha ve three main areas of focus:

- the task ( in our case this is language learning);

- the mood of the group in the here ami now;

- individual stuff that suriaces from the srudenrs' pasts. 1

Humanistic exercises can generally be placed in one or more of these

three categories,

Exercises for language learning (the task)

A 'humanistic exercise can have a very detailed and precise linguistic

focus. For example:

IPa$sing ,a word or phrase round the circle (pronunciation)

Ask the srudenrs to stand in a circle and tell tlIem they are going to pass

an object round the circle an d this object will be a word or phrase. Cup

your hands and lllentally concentrate on the word you are going to pass

to your neighbour in the circle. Get a feel of the word in your mind.

Pass the word and say the word so that everybody can hear. Make. sure

you co-ordinate the passing with your hands and the saying so that they

form one act of careful giving. In turn each stLIdenr passes the word to

their neighbour both verbally and manually. The linguistic focus of this

exercise is on difficult sounds in the target langllage and on specific

intonation patterns you feel the stude1lts need to get their minds round.If a student gets the sounds wrong, you quietly cross the circle and

'take' the word from the next perSOl l round the circle. You give the

word back to a person in the circle upstream from where the mistake

was made so that the person with the problem can hear the word a

I This framework was suggested in a workshop by Mike Eales.

20 3

. ' ; : : ...



L 2 The humanistic exercise

couple of t i m ~ s more and then can have another go at it. This gentle,

indirect form of correction is less likely to block the person with the

pronunciation problem than direct correction would.

Comparing sub-routines (present simple first and third persons)

Ask each student to think of the last seven things they typically do

before leaving their house or flat. Ask them to write these down, helping

them with vocabulary when necessary. No w ask them to bring to mind

a person they know well, a family member or a close friend. Ask them

to write down the last seven things that they think this person docs

before leaving their house or flat.

The students now work in groups of three comparing the sub

'routines. Sometimes they are struck by differences in sub-routine

between themselves and the other person the)' have chosen. As they read

ou t their sentences to each other they arc practising very precise

grammar points (first an d third persons singular, present simple).

\XThat I am stressing here is that a skilled teacher can usc humanistic

exercises to work on nitty-gritty aspects of the language. This teacher

can be just as strictly 'o n task' as her colleagues working with gap-fills

or with communicative exercises. The difference lies in the human

dimension. In the tw o exercises above, the students arc relating to eachother in a whole person way, in the first one very physically and in the

second one more verbally. In the first exercise the symbolic aspect is

very powerful, as the students arc carefully giving ant! receiving nuggets

of the target language.

Exercises that work on the here and now of the group

Sioce teachers working h U l 1 l a n i s ~ i c a l l y will have warmed-up students in

their care, it makes sense to keep a close eye on the weather in the

group. The teacher needs to know where they arc and something of

ho w they feel. Is this a honeymoon period in which everyhody is getting

on well with other people or arc some people moving towards storm? Is

the group in a post-storm period when ~ o m e of the anger and frustration

participants have experienced has blown itself alit? J want to lCJok at

one exercise that helps the teacher gauge the mood people arc in and

another that modifies the wa r the group members are feeling.

Weather forecasting

Ask students to think of themselves as <1 weather system and to prepare

to express their 'here-and-now' mood in a meteorological metaphor.

.

12 The /JII1110 lI;stici exerci se

Also ask them to give a weather forecast for the rcst of the Jay. On e

student might say: 'There a mist everywhere this mom:pg \¥ith

patches of fog. It is cold and there is 110 wind. Later in the day there will

be a breeze and the sun wi II cdme out'.

This short exercise gives teacher a fair idea of how people feel at

the moment and s o m e t i l l l e ~ participants offer information about

themselves in this type of metaphorical activity that takes on consider

able significance later in a course . [t goes without saying that the

teacher's focus is on taking in the plethora of illformation the exercise

throws up and on retaining at least some of it for possible usc later in

the course.

Breathing in rhythm

Everybody is seated in a circle so ther can sec each other. Ask one

person to notice their breathing but not to change it. Ask this person to

follow their ow n breathing by raising and lowering a hand. Ask every

body in the circle to raise and lower their own hand in rhythm with the

first person. This person then looks at the person 011 their left wh o takes

over the breathing leadership, raising and lowering their hand in

rhythm with their own breathing . Everybody follows the second leader

and so on round the group. (If ,you have more than 15-16 students, it isgood to have two or more circles working simultaneously as it is hard

work following the breathing of even ten other people.) IThis exercise from Bernard Dufell is a J1larvellous one to help create

or to celebrate harmony in a group. If the group mood is no t for

harmony, the exercise is a us dful catalyst for the start of a period of

storming. If people are feeling angry, then a 'togetherness' activity of

this depth brings them to a poi,'1t where they need to interrupt 'task' and

really speak about at least some or what is on their mind. (Since 'task' is

language learning, tbe e x p r e s of their frustrations vii' the target

language will be one of the mbst valuable language exerciJes ()n their

course. There is no question of trehearsal' here.)

Exercises that work on things ifrom people's pasts\Vhenever a teacher walks into Lclass with )0 participants, she f[lues 30

'here-and-nows' and also )0 t omplex, walking histories. F r e ~ l 1 e n t l ythose histories will be conditiobing what is really happening wIlen the

student and the teacher think tlle y arc 011 usk. Let me offer a cbncrete

an d technical example. Sergei wa s <1 Baltic shipping ngent \ ~ h 0 1 1 l I

taught one-to-one. He told 11e that we had ten afternoons lover :l

fortnight) to try to solve hi, .vriting problem. As a speaker Ill. tvas an

I . I _20 504



L! TIJe IJlllIJallistic exercise

able upper imermcdiate; as a writer he W,IS a hesitant, foot-tapping,

lower intermediate mess. As we worked, it became apparent to Sergei

that he had a silllilar problem in his native Itllssian and that he could

no w link db with a mother tollgue teadlCr he had had in middle

school. She disliked him, put him dOWII, . punished him and gave him

unfair marks. (He ched:ed this ou t by co·p)'ing a classmate's composi

tion a l l 1 l o ~ t verbatim: she gave him a D an d the classmate an A!) It wa's

clear that Sergei's linguistic past was obstrLlctillg his present like a blood

clot blocking ail artery. Th e hurrful teach¢r had broken the linle boy's

confidence in himself in this area. She ha d efficiently created a problem

where there had been Ilone, and the prilblem had stayed with him.

(Fortunately, Sergei left after tha t fortnight writing fluent faxes in

E"gli,".)1 .1

Dealing with projections

This is a "l exercise that is usdul near the ~ e g i n n i n g of a group's life to

bfing things from the participants' pasr which can get in the way of

their m beting each other effectively. IB r i n ~ .\ large soft ball to class and put [i n the middle of the circle.

Tell peOI)\p. to look around the group and see if anybody here reminds, I I .

them 0r ' lallybod)' they have kllown pre\ lOusly. When a person sees

someolle iIi the group wh o is like someone they already know, they pickup . the jll!lil,' throw it to . the person a l 1 ~ say: 'yon ,remind me of . . .

because :! .' and yon are lhfferenr from . . . \ e ~ a u s e . . . . .l

In a g ~ o L l p of 20 people usually betwt'ell SIX an d tell people WIll have

p r o j e c t + ~ they feci able [0 share and rI ese will tend to be positive

ones. exercise, if it is IIsed early in t\1 life of a group, will nor be

imponal1f in itself. Irs importance lies iry giving people permission to

think :M l\ alk ahout projectioll. Often snhlellts become aware of much

more ~ e . r f l l l an d serious projections d'\>'IS f t e ~ this little exercise has

been dpny In class. In one case, we (lid exercIse on the first Tuesday

of a t\vo-\veek cOllfse. On the Friday of tll1t,week Charlie told me that

he halL II,\ 'V finally disentangled me in hi;;, 111ind from a theatre director

I r e m i l l d ~ d him of. This 111,1 n was a p t ; ~ s o n he both respected an d

loathed, ,an d I looked like him, moved him and spoke like him!

Charlie fclt a lo t more comfortable in b1Y class once he had really

prised 111 '); image away from the other mah's in his head. Sorting LIS Ollt

melltallY tumed a conceivably painful c9 !1l'se into a good course for

Charlie. IIAfter t r o n g experiences like this, when I meet a new group, I am

acutely ,lware that l <1m meeting X nllmbcr of 'here-and-nows' but also

X 1 1 ! , I I 1 1 b ~ r of walking histories. I ignore these latter at my peril.

., 1 206 i'

12 TIJe /il/manistic exercise

Where do humanistic activities come from?

Opponents of the humanistic trend in Llnguage teaching will tell you

that a teacher goes on <1 couple of rherapy weekends and brings some

dangerous techniques b:lck to her class which she then uses recklessly

and fecklessly with her stllden • . To support this poillt of view they will

tell you that son]e of the techniques by humanistic writers are taken

straight from therapy an d could very dangerous in the hands of an

unskilled person. (So, incidentally, could a breadknife.)

Actually, the sources of the humanistic exercise are many an d varied.

Some activities come from a te<1cher looking with fresh eyes at an age-old

area, like, sa y, dictatioll. Some exercises come from identifiable feeder

fields, ' like drama trailling. Some are devised in response to a student

need that the teacher does not yet have a tool for in her kithag. She forges

a new instrument to cope with the stlldent need. Some activities arise

from ordinary life experiences ill which the teacher suddenly sees the

beginning of a useful exen:ise . Lel ll1e start with this last category.

IExercises that come from life experience

Imagine a train going Ollt of LOIlJOIl: four ~ e a t s , twO and two, facing

each mher. Seth an d I rook Ihe tWO aisle scats. A young ma n with his

head shaveJ, smelly socks an d a kitbag lay sprawled over the tw o seatsnext to the window. It took hinl five minutes to l110ve his dirty boot

over, away frol11 my elbow. As the lrain swayed through the suburbs I

built up a truly ferocious mental caricature of this clearly undesirable

individu:ll. All my stereotyping alld raci:dist mental machinery was

working overtime. After about twellty minutes he straightened himself

up an d very skilfully picked up on something I had said to Seth ten

minutes before. I liked his voice immediately, and very soon Seth and I

were in full conversation with him. My absurd, negative first impression

g u r g l e ~ down the plug hol e like barhwater. From this experience and

from discussion with colleagues comes this exercise that could be used

in the first five hours of a group coming togerher.

For this exercise the teacher tells the studenrs of a time when she had

a very wrong first impression of someone, which could he positive or

negatiye. The students then think of ,I time when either the)' go t a

wrong first impression of someOne or someone got a wrong first

impression of them. They work on this in threes. The teacher then

rounds off the exercise by giving om a text on wrong first impressions.

I Though apparentl)' abollt the past of people in the learning group,

this activity is really foclised on thc here-and-no w of the group, as

people try to sort out their first impressions of each other.

,iI

j

2 07

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Exercises devised in response to student nec(}

A good example of a whole set of exercises that wa s motivated by

student need is Letters (Uurbidge, Gray, Levy ;1I1d Rinvolucri 1996).

The authors of this book w o rked intensively with Japanese second and

fourth year university students and found that these young women

could express themselves Illuch better on the pa ge than they could

orally. Writing letters to them, receiving letters from them and getting

them to write letters to each other was a perfect way of getting them to

usc the English that they knew in the channel that felt IllOSt comfortable

to them. Once their confidence had been built up this way, it was

possible to help them to make the transition to mea ningful · oral

communication. \'V'ith these students it was certainly a case of their

written fluency leading them later to oral fluency. Without the initial

. oral silence and relative written eloquence of those Gifu students, the

useful exercises in Letters might never have been devised.

Exercises that come from feeder fields

Andrew Wright, Do n Byrne, Ah n Maley and !llan Duff were probably

among the first EFL teachers to b r i n ~ over ideas from other fields to

enrich their language tea ching. These pioneers, ·working in the 60S and70S, launched the reso urce hook genre in EFL., a category of book

which has been the vehicle for the transmission of humanistic ideas and

exercises for the last thirty years. There arc man y streams that feed the

language teaching lake. Here arc a few of them:

Drama

Alan Maley and Alan Duff, drawing heavily on Viola Spolin's work,

brought a whole range of drama and ;lctor training techniques into EFt.

their book, Drama Tecfmiqlfes ;'1 La17glfage Teachil7X (.1982), js -an

. excellent source of humanistic activities.

Psychodrama to

Bernard Dufeu has dra \Vn on the work of Jacob Moreno a nd Willy

Urbain to create a completely new approach to teaching beginners:

Linguistic Psychodramaturgy. This is a r ~ l a b l y the most complex and

complete approach to teaching adult beginners yet conceived. It is

packed with frames and activities that can be used in language tcaching

without necessarily buying the whole approach. Among the main

techniques brought across from psychodrama and Gestalt are the ideas

20 8

J J. Th e humanistic exercise

of role-reversal and doubling. In role-revcrsal, Person A takes al l the, . role of Person B when playing Ollt :I scene, :lnd, reciprocally Persall 13

acts ou t the part of Person A. In doubling, Person A gocs behind Person

B and tries to speak on Irs behalf, expressing things she thinks B mi ght

want to say but can't. Thcke have now been lIsed by many writers of

humanistic language teaching exercises. I

G r a P h O I O ~ y ,

IIn the same way that voice icarries the primary expression of language,

its oral form, h:lndwriting tarries its secondary expression, the written

form. Some ideas culled !from graphology have appeardd in EFL

magazines, but there is s t i l ~ much to be learnt and a d a p t e ~ from this

largely French-dominated fibld.

I'

, ,·, MathsI

IThe Silent Way and the wl\d le of Gattesno's thinking about [bngu;'Ige

springs directly f romma thFl1latical thinking. All the ( ) p i 1 e l l l l e d ,semantically free sentencei naniPulation exercises, which dr ' ;so dif

ferent from gap-fills, cOllle ftolll the area of mathematical rqativity.

(See Rinvolucri 19 84, sectio 1[2.)

I'. lNeuro-Linguistic Program ing I

: \ I

i A gmw;og body of E fl ,Ihm h", "k" , ;0;,;,1 ",;oin, , ." '"" h.

I NLP and have turned s o m ~ bf its rich range of exercises to language

!' teaching usc. NLP is still a jdpidly developing field and we so far

only seen the beginnings of IIsiadaptation to langu:lge f l i n g ends.I,·j The above listing of feeder Leas is by no Illeans e x h a u s t i v ~ , bU it shows

some of the pastures in h i c h adventurous language tea chers ,have

grazed. My hunch is that t l l ( borrowings <lnd adapt:ltions of the past

tWenty-five years have been[so fruitful that Illany more feeder fields not

yet approached will be pressed into EFL service over the first twenty

years of the twenty-first century. · .,- ' I

Exercises that come from anew look at an old areaI I

In the 80 S John Morgan ;1I1d I stumbled on the f<lct that when we told

stories to language students, SOllie of them responded with d depth of

feeling we did no t at first understand. I remcmber an Italian business

\ man who stopped me telling Little Red Riclinghood at the point where

20 9

,:t ·



1/ I .. I .12 Je )/(I11Gmstlc exerr se

the little girl says 'w h1 r big teeth YOll've got!' 'Basta!' He shouted. He

later explained that Ij i1 three-year -old lLlllghtcr stoppe:cl him at this

point in wide-eyed anticIPator)' terror. For ;In instant he seemed to have

become a cop)' of tljc j little girl in a 5;11e and linguilstically useful

regression. \'(/e were comers to the <1ge-old traditionlof oral story

telling and the book did (Ollce lJ/)()/1 G Tillie, Morgan and

Rinvolucri 19H3) h<1S been lIscful to nwny language teachers wh o

wanted to look at the ol!d with new eyes, first ours ;lIld t1,en theirs. Th e

great thing about t a k i n ~ a new look at sOIllcthillg vcry ol'd an d familiar

i, l , , ~ n t w ,n"l" '" g' i"'indY""p,.",,," ",.I exdt'''g. I

i

The future of humanistic language teaching

I have happity poured Ill)' professi (lIIal life so far into <1ctive participa

tion in the humanistic language teaching 1lI0Velllent, a movement

parallel to work in other fields StIch as cnl11l1lullity architecture and to

the thinking of divorce lawyers wh o push their clients towards reconci

liation rather than litigation. All these human-sensitive ventures partici

pate in a new outlook that is evident in a growing number of areas. My

ow n belief in the righrness of the hUIll,l1listic approach to language

It:amers grows flrmer fm m year to year. And yet I know that the

rt:sollrce book genre, the nuin print carrier of these ideas, still only

reaches a tiny minority of tllc language teaching professionals.

For me the big question is ho w to reach the great Illajority of language

teachers (Jut there beyond the relatively limited realm of the commu

nicative approach . How do we also reach the choral readers, the gap

fillers an d the grammar-translators in the huge countries of the East an d

the SOllth?

Perhaps one way is to accept the llletlHldlllogy that is so normal in

their societies that they do n()t relllotely see it as a methodology, as a·matter of choice, hut rather as a given, a part of nature. If this

hypothesis is correct, then a good way for humanistic methodologists to

move at this point would be to set themselves the task of humanising

whatever tcaching is being done - ! ~ r a I 1 l 1 n a r - t r a n s l a t i o n , for' example

so that it becomes more of a whole person acti vity. Th e humanisticframe of mind can inform ,1I1y technology of language teaching, for it is, /

above all, a question of attitude, which can he embodied in mallY types

of exercises that show concern for the whol'e learner. This might be an

effective wa y to usher ill a much greater predominance in the future of

humanistic language tcaching.

210



EXERCISE 45. NAMES PEOPLE PLAy6

Purposes:Affective-

To enable students to develop greater sensitivity into how classmates

feel about their names and what they arc called "

Linguistic-

To practice the vocabulary of feelings and structures related to giving

one's name, for example, "My name is . . . " and "1 used to be

called . . . "

Levels: Intermediate to advanced

Size ofgroups: Three to six, depending on the amoun t of time available

Procedures: Inform the students that they are going to discuss a topic about which

they probably have many feelings. You could introduce the topic in this way:

___"All of us were gi'Jena first name when we were born. We had no chQicej"L-__ ~ ______

this name. Yet this name represents us, stands for us, identities us. When people

say this name, we respond to it.

"T!l!nk your ; : ; l nam>! and any nicknames YCll ever have been caned.

D l ~ C U S S in your ?rour h'ow you fed about YL1ur first name and any nicknames you

have been given during your life."

Stal't Ollt by sharing your feelings about your own first name and any



EXERCISE 43. SAY IT WITH YOUR HANDS4iI Purposes:

Affective.,i

To explore how fcdings can be communicated non verbally

For fun

I Linguistic-i To practice the vocabulary of feelings

Levels: All levels

Size ofgroups: Dyads

Pwcedures: This ac tivity can be lIsed at any time, but it is good as a warm-up when

the class is just getting acquainted. It also can be useful as a light exercise dealing

wi th feelings.Tell the students that we show our feelings in diffe rent ways. Our eyes, the

expressions on our faces, our posture, Ollr gestures all rev eal how feel.

Ask the students to close their eyes as they are goi ng to try to express so me

feelings by means ot" their hands. Each stude nt should have a p a r t n ~ r . you

mention a particular feeling, thc students will take the hands of their partner in a

way that communicaks that feeling. Request that there be no talking and that

they keep their eyes closed .

Then one at a time tell the students to express a number of con trasting

feelings to each other by means of their hands. H e r ~ are some sllggestions:

timidit y anger

dominance playfulness

friendliness tenderne ss

Then have the students open tlteir eyes and disc:uss with their partners:

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!EXERCISE 4(1 SENSE APPEAL I ,

Purposes: I IAfCl ctive- '

I To become mo re c i o u s of uppealing m e n l s in the environment ,

To lake nOle of what is pleasing (U ont!'s renses and to share that

ple,asllfc 1 I II 1"1111,1 i'

Tll practice 1 1 1 ~ ' v e d ) s lhiar, l a S I ~ , Sill"" kcl, and touch, which

relate to Ihe t1ve sch'ses

'I'll raclin: II,e v()cail\I!,IJY 'r' kelill!:> iiJl( r lllllS

Levels: Alllc'Iels, with vocabulary help (or the begilll ing level , ' ISize o fgroups: I balt five I

/ l / l e r i a l S lIee'/t·f:Comple\ion of Ihe ass gnment by d e n t s who will bring in aariety ,)f b j e c ~

I

IJ "I'ro/'elitlle,\': B"III" "i ' 10) II,c :1",II(III1ICIII III":

I 'There i\rQmallY I"iugs ill the cnVirUJlIll<:lIt Ihal re very pleasing us,

! ometimes we r le not wllsdously ilwarC of what theSn e\ements are. In some way

I·'I l

I ,All Abuut (he Exercises • II I

they appeal to at least one of our swses. ~ Y o u cau ,ask the studcnts what ,the five

senses arL',) ,

"We are going to explore our s e l l s ~ s and think ablll!t (he many things that

,plcus\! each of thell!. AI h,illlC Illllig!rl wrik a lisl Ill' Ihillgs that pkil'" Y,Hlf S,'IlScS,

Make a colullln for each of (hc sellses below iI,wlile,as llIany Ihillgs as yuu

"an l!rink I ll ' w!rirh VOlIIl'SI'l'l:ialll' i 1 ! , " I , ~ , ' i i l ( l ' wilh 11,,11 ,.'II',l.', (III 111\ l i ~ ; 1 Ulltil'!'

'stllcll'l wnldd have sud. f l l i l l E ~ Il l: ;)11 b l d ~ , : ' \'Ld pg lH', Ei ' ,dI IH:. ~ L l l ~ f o j . \ ,1111

lists as lung as possible. ' ,

"Then for each or tile senses , select w n , ~ l h i n g Ihat ynu especially like thai

yOq can ildJlally Illillg III ,lass, llring lire fil'e! itt'IIIS ,;, .:bs s in iI lug s,' tlr:1l no llilC

C,1Il see them, For the item 10 be laSled . yolI Iliay h:ive tu supply sUllie eating or

drinking utensils., ' , ,

"You will be put into groups of five to share, of the favorile eIullents

, that appeal 10 your senses, Except for thc one which you like tll sec. you will

close your eyes when Ihe items are presenled to your groUp in order to try to

' guess what they arc. It' eating utensils are nceded for your '(astc' ilem, prepare' 10

HCHvr fl l i l l !,"" " t· , \Vr will I", d l s ( , l l . ~ s i l J ~ lilll\' "lIl'li ,111,1,111 ill'III';'\'''" hi ill/< In I I l n l you '!:eI. Ub"," ' , '

When the assignlllcnt is dllC, h<Jl'c thc S l l l " C ; I I ~ ill the glOlil'S lake (urns With

' one sense at a lime. If "s.;lcll" is the IIrst sense tll lJe worked 'with, one at a, time

the students give those in their group the opportunit:y, 'to smcllthe item each"

brought in. After the studcnts have smelled olle itCH) with their eyes clOSed, they

will glless wllat it was by saying, "I slIl.:!1 ' • , '; (OJ tlte past present

progressive tenses can be used). After ead,1 e r s o n t a k c n a guess, the one wh'o

brought it in will tell wln!t it is and what mood ode,eling s/he gets from it. '

For example: "That smell is a peony." The giollp \vill then ask, "How

does the smell of a peony l)1ake you feel'!" The person \V1i\l b r ~ u g h l in the iiem

, will reply, "\Vben I smell a 'peony, I feel heavenly'; or feel aliyc and exstalic

when I smell a peony," , .

When everyone has had a (11m in tlrc groups 10 sample all of Ihe items

hroughl ill, hllve thelll talk ,ahollt tll c other t l r i l l ~ S 'Ih ..!ir l i , l ~ t'1;1I w ~ r c not'

IoIUlllllil Ill, All! Iii",,, thul ll' 1 . I 1 " 1 I 1 t 0 l 1 l ~ , ( 10\' " I h " , ~ tli", I " " ' \ Iii"", lilOI IJr,,1 ' I r ~ y ,

didn t think of'! Did sOllie people hav.! i d < . ! n t i ~ a l ilJllls 'l-ln Iheir list s'!

III thc lotal group ask: '"

"Was it difficult to fOCLlS on your senses?"

"How can wedcvelll{J and appreciatc,our senses Inorc')" ,

"Which sense did you enjoy using the most.'I"

As u r1osinv, lIl'tivily. rOllllll dYlldi ' . 110'11. TIr,;,,' lin Ih,. II;sld,' "i1l'l" ~ h ' ' ' I { \ Ihlll<l lit" ' 1 ~ l I I s Ihey hl'<)lIglll In 10 hll '1IIeile" 1I11" 1 0 1 l d l ~ d , ' I ' I \ I I \ ' l I l h " ( l ' l I ' S ~ Icircle are 10 keep their eyes closed. The illll.!!' circle gJ(IIIP rotates around Ihe -

circle and presents the obJecls brought ill smcilingalllllou'l!/ling to each ~ ~



EXERCISE 71. WHAT MAKES YOU ANGRY?

Purposes:

Affcctive-

To he lp unlier.'itand the basis for much of one's anger

To help crystallize one's values through a process of reasoning

To hecome more introspective abou t anger

To nok commonali ties in wlla t makes people angry

Linguistic-

To write and speak on a topic abou t which people have strong feelings

Levels: Advanced

Size ofgroups: Four to five

Pro cedures: :\s homewlHk, request that students make a li:;t of the things which

rC311y make them ::lngry and bring it to class. In groups, have them go over their

lists.

Tell them that our beliefs and COI1victiorb ,lflU values arc o ften at the heartI

of what makes us angry. Often when we get angry, we feel guilty about it. Yet

something we have strong convictions abou t h:ls been violated.

Instruct tile students to study their own lists ( nd to write out what values

they find benea th e:.lLh of the things that makes :lngry. Have them write

down a list of these values. This can be done ill clas ! or as a homev,Iork assignment.

When compkh;J, the students should discuss what values they discovered they



IEXERCIS l: 5'2. HAJR! HAIRY

PlIrpos('s l ·

Af1ectiVCTo b ~ c o m c aW,lfe of the cmoti()lis!students havc had through thc

. years about a part of their appea rancc often considered very

important to thcmTo share intcresting, humorou s, ahd touching personal stories on a

:' somcwhat unusual topic

L i n g u i ic-

To practice writing and spcaking in the past tense(s)

To practice the vocabulary of colors and length of hair

Levels: All levels, with sample structures givcn for thc beginning level to complete

Size o!grollps: About four

Materials lIeeded: Each student will have to complctc the written assignment to

be given and bring it to class.

Procedllres: lIere is <J suggcsted way to introducc assignment (a the class:

"For our next ac\ivily, we'rc going to write and talk about a topic th.at most

of us have a lot of feclings about. There are probably many stories we each have

concerning t 1 ~ s topic, yet it is VCFY ullusual to think about and discuss in class.

The topic dcals with what feelings, emotions, anJ mcmories we h a v ~ related to

our hJir. .lust how illlportant is our hair to us')

"We've all hearJ thilt a woman's hair is her crowning glory. Throughout

history it has been a sacrifice for a woman to havc to cut and sc\l her hair.

All Ab o.ut the Exercises * 119

"Samson lost his poweJ whl!1l Dclilah Clit his hair. In the mi'i !ary service,

ncw recruits get their hcads shavcd for cleanliness but also to give them a f:eling

of being subservicnt - to give them a poorer image of themselves. rccent years

somc parents and adults hav e !objectcd to long hair on males. I

"Oftcn our hair innllcnces how we feci or how we think we 1ook. It can

affect our pcrsonality. We cOI \lplain that our hair is a mess, or we can't do

anything with it. And how anIJ.·y we are at the b;lrbcr or beallticia /l who cuts our

hair too short or not thq way hl'e wan ted it. \1

"So for all of us tllere ale probably times whcll wc have had ldlffcrclltfcelings about our Itair alld solnc. sturics of what happellcd to liS . " I

You call thell (ell somc ( o r y c(lllnl!ctcd with YOllr hair. H(!fC iFall example:

"Wilen I was growing up my I air IV;]S vcry fillc . My mothcr C O U l d r m a n a g e it so

she kept it very short. I W<Jlltc' in structionsd to havc IOllg hair vcry badly, but h

to the barbcr were: 'Cut it so t hc tips of hcr Cars arc showing.' 110 hated that l

Whcn I became old enough tol takc care of nly own hair, I kept it 'Ie y long, and I

still do. Twice a year thc bcau,tician gets a treat andtakcs an inch q, f . And my

own daughters always had lon# hair and they still kcep it long." I

. TI.len continuc: "Tldllk labout all the melllOlics you have ol:)'dur hair and

wflte (give the length of the assignment) abuut J page on the stof!ds,l pa st and

prcsent, and the feclings you f.lad about yom hair. We will be r<!nlui!lg them to each

other in groups and diSCUSSin1 thcln. Start in (he past ancl go up to the prescnt in

your stories. Bring in any sna' .ShtllS you havc showing YO!'f h ~ > i r atlthe timcs youare telling us abou I. " .

The day the assignment is due, dividc the students into g r o u l and have

them rcad thcir stories to the roup and show the picturcs of thelnkclvcs they

hrolJght in. As thc stu:"ics arc rend, the group mcmbers can ask questions or make

com mcn ts. I I .

Whcn cach person has had a turn, have the group discllss these questions

and then process the'nl before jthe total class:

What does your story S;IY abou: the meaning YOIH haiF has to you?

What did your group discover about how others feel about their hair?

Answer thcse qucstions yourse lf before thc total class.

You ca n corrcct the compositiolls before thcy are read in the groups rather

than afterwards, if yOll prefer.



1 " ' +1"g ,,,,,I st,", "g i" ,I" Fm" g" L, ""Lcb«

Procetlllrh Br.jng up Ihc Illpic or "full" 10 the f lass by Illuking some relatedrOlllmenl S [lb uilt 'It: .

"E ycryoJle like, 10 h a l ' ~ fUll ilnd to CIIjoy /lilll>eIL There are some things

that mallY } l ~ o c o n s i d ~ r fun , sudl as going tUl lhe circus. That's what makes

such evclI popular. There arc also Ihillg,; thai SHIlt! uf us enjoy which o t h e ~ s do

lIol. Some l)w ple lind a ! l l l e uf chess very exciting, II'hi:e others find it dull.

"Do rc

11<ll'e~ I l l l u ~ h

fun ill ,Hlr nl'c s'! Calli We have mure fun than Wt! donull"} To lipd out, IV,' arc all g ( ) i l l ~ lu conlplck *very simpl.: stakment with as

many elldings as lVe call Ihink or. The stateillent' is: 'hl l l is __ _ ___ ___I

i\hKe a list II I' alllhc ihings you l i k ~ 10 p:lrlicil'a;C ill ur Ii:IVC happen ihat are fun

for you. T h , ~ longer YDUI lisl is, betic!. YouI1statelllcnts wili sound like this:; I

IFUll i, , . ,

I , goillg ice sKaling ,

1 2. ealing a hOI fudge Inarslillialinw sundae.

.1. rilling ill a cUlivellible wilh Ihe lap down.

..), Iyillg in Ihe sllnwhcli the willd hlows gelltly.

5. bt!illg willi illy best flicl"\.

(0, dancing 10 mli siL or Illy favoritc grullp.

011 Friday bring in YOllr list or what fun is ror you. Nlllllber each item so we will

knoll' how many :Il'C on yom list. I'lit slilr in rnHlt of lliose you find llie mosl

fun,"

Wlien Ihe ~ s s i g n l l l e i l l is dUe, p l ; t c ~ SlliJelllS into groups of four 10 five, Have

Ihe s(udenls in each group take one lurn al a lillie slaling sometliing they consider

fun. COlltinue for a IIl1mbcr or WlIlllls unlil ~ l y o l l e ' s list is given. Ask the

sllHlents 10 slale tlie things Ihcy l'( lIl, i,kr the lIlust run at (he end of Iheir lists but

to mcnlion w h ~ n tliey reacli I h e S ~ , T l l l b ~ wlio mort! on their lists may end

up giving ,,',(ral by Ihcmselvcs i,f Ihe o l h ~ r s lUl i l lU! of items, Tell the students

thai Ihey can ,llId to their lists anylhillg ,I ci:t,i'llolall! mentions as fun tliat is not on

tlieir list s hUI Ihal they wanl to i l l c l u u ~ .

When tlie groups t1l1ish this phase of the exercise, Ihey should check:

L Which aClil'ities have you engagcd in I ' t ' cc l I l l ) ' } (f,lark Ihese with an "R "

or thc leller of Ihe equivalent word in thc largel language.)

Which aclivilies do yuu cng,igc ill Jieqllelllly' (Mark Ihese with an "F "

or Ihe letler Ill' the equivalenlwllld in the Lligcl language,)

3. \\Ihidl aclivities dl) YOll engage in only OCl'I /SiOll l l l /y ') (Mark Ihese with an

"0 " or the lel'tero()I' Ihe e q u i l ' ~ l e l l l word ill Ihe largd languag.:.) ,

. 4. Wilh \ ~ L l i frequellcy do you eng;lgc in Ihe aCli'ili es you have slarred as

the 1Il0st fun' for you'}

Ask t h , ~ studl nts tll disCllSS whal they discuvere,1 ,\boutthemselvesfrom this

exercise. Tellthern 10 make SlllllC resolutions fur Ihe futule regarding having fun.

- - - , ,

Ali Abou[ the Exercises 125

In the total group. have the stlldents s h ~ r . : the activily or situalion they

consider to 'be the 111051 fUll. A discussioll witli lhe whole class can also follow

on what studenls l e ~ r n e d about tliemselves frol11 this exercise. Some of the

resolutions made can be shart!d.As 3 follow-up activilY, the slll!tenls can submit lhdr extended lisls of what

they consider to be run with Ihe u e n c y Ihal the aClivilies are engaged in.

They can write what lhey \ c a r n e ~ I ~ r u l n lliis exercise and what resolutions they

have madc for tlie future. As an alternative or in addilion to this assignment, havethe siudents wrile ab()ul UII!! or nllHC of llie activities whi ch they enjoy, describ

ing occasiuns and events in Iheir lives connected with Ihose in wliich they ha'd a

great deal of fun.

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EXERCISE 61. HIGHLIGHTS OF MY LIFE4

Purposes:

Affective-

To have student:; refled on their lives to determine what the best

experiences have been

To appreciate one's ttfe even more

To share with others experiences that have given much pleasure and/

or.prideLinguistic- ' .

To practice the past tense(s)

To practice asking and answering questions

To practice the skill of wri ting

Levels: Intermediate to advanced

Size 0/ groups: Abou t three to four

Materials needed: Dittoed handouts with squares on them

Pracedures: Int.roduce tIle assignment as fllows:

"During our lives we experience a number of events which give us great

happiness or pride. However, we rarely think about 'Ull of them at once. Sometimes

we may feel th;:t nothing good happens to us. At such times it helps to recall how

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MEDITATION ON USXERCISE 48.

Purposes:Affective- .

To help build close tics among studen ts in a conscious way

To encourage students to think positively about themselves and

others in the class

Linguistic-

To practice the vocabulary of feelings

Lellefs: All levels

Size ofgroups: Abou t six

Procedllres: This activity is intended to be used as a closure after students have

worked with these exercises quite a while and feel close to each other. It is

especially effective after a more serious activity in which students share personally

meaningful memories or feelings or in which students have expressed very positive

feelin1s ther have" for one another. This exercise/ iS appropriate as a closing acti,vity

before v a c ~ t i o n oo t the end of the year.

. The Tudents should alreauy be in groups In which they worked on one or .

two e y . e r c i S ~ s together: They should be seated a circle. Here are the instructions

to give 'this activity: ·1.."T;IJc .e hch other's Ilanus :lIId look at ~ ' o l l e to make certain that

, I ,Ik ~ \ J w W J ~ O I

sit ting ill e a ~ h part of the cir de : Npw close you r eyes don't talk.

.With yo«r eyes closed, thmk of each person III Y,OIlr group, one at a time, and

experiell¢elsome warm thoughts and feelings a b ~ l I t each person. When you i!;jve

done t h i ~ , Ihi'1k of some warm though ts abou t " oursei f. Keep your eyes closed

'I I te 11

' I"n tl ).I9l, to open t lelll,

, I3;,lc{rtain that no one tnlks. I f anyone U ~ C $ , in a \vhisper quiet ly say, "No

tdkmg. , I 1 {

Tolallow enough time, verbalize to yours If this experience with the ' "

member \ given group or, better yet,join a ¥IOUp. When students have had

enough t l ~ e complete the activity, in a Cail11 ' voice, give this set of .

instructi6ds! r , . . ,

;;\Yi !your eyes closed, t 1ink of how fl!l doing this exercise and h o " , ,ypu are ~ t ; r l i n g right now. (Allow a minute to Pflss.t Nuw open yonr eye,s Jfjd

share t l H ~ S feelings." t . , , i . 1

After about three or four minutes, ask to have a few students share th(!ir

feelings he1ore the !otal group. ,, '

II '

I.L , . '. .

EXERCISE 49. I ENJOYED, I ENJbYED7 ."'

,/lrposes:

Aifebive-

To give students the opportlillity to express warlll thoughts andt r I I. lee 'ings '

To bring out i t i V ~ thollghts which might not otherwise get

exprcsseu "

Unguistic-

To practice the past tensc(s)

To practice the f!rsi and third persoll n b l r l a r Levels: All levels

'1

Size ofgroups: Tot al class ",./11.

..Procedures' This exerciscis intcildeu as a closing :Ictivi'\' after the students know.

,.each other well and after they have experienced awareness activities for quite.a .,

w h i \ e . l t is 'fitting before a huliuay vacation or uuring thelast week or thdaSl.day ,l a ~ s c h o o l is in session. ," Ii, .:.

If pos;;ible, hav e tile cl;15S scaled ;n a ci lck :,1.) everyone can be seen by ull,

An alternative is to have the students stalld ill a circle anu hold h ~ i n < l "Je re is a

way to introduce the activity:

"There are lllany go " d l i n g ~ ; ;II1U thoughl : that have, but they uon ' t

necessarily get e x p r c s We arc nnw go ing 10 have the LllallCC to share l h ~ s t :wilh the class,

"The question I'd like YOll.to an swer is. 'Did all)'on c ill tl llr class say or do

som'tthing that you especially liked. enjoyed, or "ppreci:Jtcd Lluring OU f (name orthe target language) class') ' Take a 1ll0lllent to think ahout it "nd thell we'll e3 ch

,have_- tU,rn to tell the class wll.O the person is and what it was thaI we enjoyeu ornppreciated.'·' . I

. Be certain to ; n t i c i p ~ t e in this activity yourself. TllS r! xercise is conducive

to bnn gif:l; oui glOWing fee lIn gs ,md even sonIc laughter.,

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Humanisticki pristup - 8.12.2012

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